Sunday, June 7
By, Victoria Rybicki, 9th grader

John 13:21-32

This verse reminds me of a time me and my friends got together and were all gossiping about stuff. The line, “I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me,” reminds me of one of my friends from the group who went and told other people stuff that she said we talked about, but we didn’t. But the statement where Jesus was praying for him to be saved reminds me of how we all forgave her for what she did.

Monday, June 8
By, Michele Quayle

Exodus 19:9b-15God’s covenant with his people

Before God spoke to the people of Israel in Exodus 19, they were instructed to cleanse and prepare themselves. They were told that they must remain outside of the boundaries laid out by God and they were forbidden to touch foot on the Mountain. God’s word was to be heard without the benefit of seeing God. The people were asked to believe God’s word and act on his will blindly. Ask yourself, however, are the word and will of God an unseen entity?

As the renewal of earth occurs in the spring and flowers are abundant in every color imaginable, with a fragrance that is nearly indescribable, do we not witness God’s will?
When an infant is born and its heart begins to beat, are we not witness to God’s promise?
Our Faith is not blind, though we cannot see God. God made a covenant with the Israelites years ago, that is still binding with all Christians. We are his chosen people.
When we abide by the word of God, and when we obey his commandments, he will care for us. This is the covenant made by God and his people.

Tuesday, June 9
By, Marissa Jacks, confirmation student

Jeremiah 31:31-34
A new covenant is written on my heart

The math teacher was frustrated with the students. She was ready to give up, she put a box over her head, opened the window and yelled, “I could just as well be talking to the walls.” The students were just not hearing what she was saying and she was frustrated. Then the students responded. The teacher gave them a second chance.

God was frustrated with the people also. The people were not listening to God. But then God forgave them and he said that he would write the new promise on their hearts. God gives us second chances also. Just like the teacher, Just like God. Amen.

Wednesday, June 10
By, Holly Rybicki

Mark 14:1-15:47
The Passion

I start off thinking how did God let his only son go through this? Being a parent I can’t even begin to wrap my mind around this concept. How God loved us so much to forsake his only son. “(34) And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘My God, MY God, why have you forsaken me.’” To hear your child crying out but to know this has to happen for the bigger picture. Whenever I watch “The Passion” during this part I always find myself praying. Thanking God for what he went through to save our sins. Amen

Thursday, June 11
By, Donna and Brittanie Barry

Psalm 107:17-22

v.19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he save them from their distress;

I feel we all turn to the Lord in times of distress. We feel comfort in prayer when we are going through times of distress or troubles. It gives us comfort to know the Lord is listening and cares for us and will guide us through our troubled times. We have all gone through times of trouble and whether we speak to the Lord at church or home or while laying awake in the middle of the night or while driving home from work, we know he is listening and gives the comfort to confront our trouble and go on in our lives in a positive way.

v.21 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works of humankind.

We must also remember to thank the Lord for how he loves us and comforts us. We can do this by letting others know of his word. We must praise him for all he has done for us and knowing he will always be there for us in our times of good and bad. We praise him through worship and in the hymns we sing each Sunday at church. I feel these verses let us know our God in there for us but we must not forget to give thanks for him for all he does and for listing to us in our time of need.

Prayer: Lord thank you for being there when we need you, let us always remember what you have done for us and will guide us to make good decisions in our lives, in your name, Amen.

Friday, June 12
By, Brenda Grubbs

Philippians 2:12-18
How we are to do everything

As I sat to do this devotion I read the verses and “work out your salvation” is the part that spoke to me. “Workouts” as I know, should be vigorous and show my own self discipline. In my mind I always say … No pain no gain. If this is how I work to understand the phrase “work out your salvation…” then to me that means faith is anything other than fit and firm, if my spiritual sense is not aware and sensitive, if my hope for heaven sometimes changes, then it is my fault. I need to workout more. I need to work harder. Then, I want to say, “I am working as hard as I can! I can’t do everything!”

In today’s world I believe most of us, me included, strive to do it all. We strive to work harder to make more money, we strive to work harder to do better at home in order to have a successful marriage and to raise good children. I even strive to work harder in my spiritual life to better myself and the things I do. But, all this working hard sometimes leads me to fatigue and I say, “I can’t do everything.”

As I ponder these verses maybe the message is not work harder but work differently. I believe there is an energy deep within that does not come from work but it comes from God. God himself is willing and working inside all of us and he is with us every step of the way. The reality is that I need to relax and embrace the belief that God is working in my life.

Saturday, June 13
By, Abbie Grubbs, confirmation student

Psalm 105:1-4
Sing to him….

Expressing God’s word can be a difficult struggle because I am a youth member of the congregation. I often feel insecure and unsure of my understandings of the lessons and sermons. Therefore, I find comfort in Psalm 105 verse 2. It says, “Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works.” Since I was very small I sang in the Sounds of Joy choir, the Christmas programs, and most recently the St. Lucia programs, which were all opportunities to “sing to him.” But, I feel when I sang to God I was discovering and learning many of his valuable lessons.

Even now, I still sit in church feeling lost and confused. Then, it comes time for the hymn and a feeling of comfort comes over me. It is through the hymn that I feel I can grasp a part of what God is teaching and I can sing to him the lesson that I learned.